Refrigerating system



Aug. 7, 1928. 1,679,729

E. LYNN v REFRIGERATING SYSTEM Filed July 18. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l L m ll .13 J 1 I V V I 1,;

INVENTOR Aug. 7. 1928.

1,679,729. F. E'. LYNN REFRIGERATING SYSTEM Filed July 18, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR Patented Aug. 7, 1928.

PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK E. LYNN, OF SPRINGDAIIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

QBEFRFIGERATING SYSTEM.

Application" filed July 18,

My invention relates to refrigerating sys-' tems, and more particularly to those wherein a plurality of refrigerating cabinets or the like are supplied with refrigerant liquid from a single compressor unit.

' In apartment houses, forexample, it is desirable to supply a refrigerating cabinet in each apartment fromn central station, but difficulty is experienced in effecting a sufliciently uniform supply to the cabinets on the various floors of the building, for the reason that the pressure which is nee-- essary to carry the liquid refrigerant to those cabinets on the higher floors is somuch greater than is necessary for supply ing the cabinets on the lower floors. This results in the cabinets on the upper floors not ,receiving a sufiicientsupply of refrigerant or none at all. The pressure necessary to properly supply the upper cabinets may be sogreat asto bedangerous at the lower levels.

Refrigerant pressures in the condenser are ordinarily not great enough to force the column of liquid refrigerant to the higher levels, or more distant points, and if the ressure within the condenser is increased y cutting down the supply of cooling medium, such pressure may become dangerously high, and such increase of pressure results in a corresponding decrease in the v capacity and efficiency of the unit. It may be also noted that even if the system is constructed of, such strength as to withstand pressures necessary to carry the liquid .re- 'frigerant to high levels, the act of compressing the refrigerant to the pressure necessary to reach the higher levels may result in such increase in temperature by reason of the compressing action, as to render it imossible to liquefy the refrigerating medium in the condenser,,thereby rendering the refrigerating medium ineffective to perform its function. My invention has for one of its objects the provision of a system wherein a refrigerant medium may be more efficiently distributed froma central point to the cabinets of a multi-cabinet system.-

Another object of my invention is to sim-' 1927. Serial No. 206,453.

wherein Figure 1 is an elevational View, in somewhat diagrammatic form, of a system embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan -view, on an enlarged scale, of .a portion of the apparatus of Fig. l, and Fig. 8 is a sectional elevational view of the apparatus of Fig. 2.

The compressor unit may be of any wellknown form, and is here shown as composed of an electric motor 5, a compressor 6 having a compression chamber 7, and a pipe 8 leading to a condensing chamber 9, wherein the compressed gas, which may be sulfurous ($0 is condensed. The condensed rcfrlgerant is of course under pressuue and m liquid form, and passes through a con duit 10 from which portions may flow laterally through pipes 11 to refrigerating cabinets 12, located at various floors of the building. It will be understood that a number of cabinets 12 may be served on a single floor, by suitably connecting them to the pipes 11 or directly to the conduit 10.

Within the cabinets 12, the refrigerant is permitted to expand into expansion or refrigeration coils (not shown), in a wellknown manner, after which, in its gaseous form, it will pass through pipes 13 to a return line or conduit 14 that leads to the suction 0r intake side-ofthe compressor 6, where it is again compressed and passed through the cycle of operations above described.

Refrigerator cabinets 12, connected to the line '10, may be placed at any number of desired levels, depending upon conditions,

but where it is desired to supply other cabi- Refrigerant liquid is supplied to the res:

ervoir 15 through the pipe 10, past a downwardly seating check valve 16 and through a pipe 17. The pipe 17 leadd into the lower portion of the chamber 155, the air or gas within such chamber being simultaneously exhausted pasta valve 18 to the return line 14 that leads to the intake side of the compressor. a A float 19 is provided in the tank 15, such chamber float being loosely mounted upon shaft '20 that-is j ournaled in the ends of bracket arms 21 that are secured to one wall of the tank. Bell crank levers 22 and 23 are rigidly secured to the shaft 20 and have their horizontally-extended arms connected through tension springs 24 and 25 respectively with an extension 19 of the float 19, so that when the float moves from its upper or full line position to its lower position (Fig. 3) the springs will be carried across the axial line of the shaft and tend tomove the bellcrank levers 22 and 23 in a clockwise direction, while when the float moves to its upper position, upon filling of the chamber with liquid refrigerant, the outer ends of the springs will becarried downward below the axial line of the shaft 20 and move the bell crank levers in a counter-clockwise direction.

When the chamber 15 has become approximately filled with liquid refrigerant the float 19 will of course be raised and this movement will result in the bell crank lever 22 operating a link-like valve stem 26 toclose the valve 18, through movement of the bell crank lever 22 in a counter-clockwise direction, to shut off communication between the chamber 15 and the return or suction line 14. At this time, a valve 27 will be moved.

to the left from its seat, through connection of its stem 28 with the vertically extending arm of the bell crank lever 23. This movement establishes communication between the up er portion of the chamber 15 and a conduit 29 that is preferably heat-insulated and which has connection with the compression chamber 7 The compressed gas within such is therefore permitted to flow through the line 29 into the chamber 15 and force the liquid refrigerant therefrom through the pipe 17 to the conduit 10 Where it will flow past an upwardly opening check valve 30 to supply lateral lines 11 that lead to additional refrigerating cabinets 12. This refrigerant is prevented fromflowing down through the conduit 10, by the check valve 16. From the cabinets 12, the gasified refrigerant will flow through pipes 13 to the return line '14. For the taller buildings, a plurality of reservoirs 15 will be provided at different levels.

It will be seen that by employing gas pressure to force the, refrigerant to the higher levels, the necessity of carrying an extremely long column of liquid refrigerant under necessarily high pressure is avoided,

since the weight of gas in a given length of column is very small compared to a similar volume of liquid.

When the reservoir 15 has been empt'ed of a charge of liquid, the float 19 willfall to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig; 3, thus opening the valve 18' and closing the valve 27, so that a new supply of refrigeranti may flow into the reservoir and the cycle of operations above described repeated.

I claim as my invention 1. "A refrigerating system comprising a compressor, a condenser, a reservoir disposed above the condenser, a cabinet, a connection between the condenser and the reservoir, a connection between thereservoir and the inlet side of the compressor, a connection between the reservoir and the said cabinet, a connection between the compression chamber of the compressor and the reservoir, and valves for controlling flow through said connections' 2. A refrigerating system comprising a compressor, a condenser, a reservoir disposed above the condenser, a cabinet, a-connection between the condenser and the reservoir, a connection between the reservoir and the cabinet, a connection between the reservoir and the inlet side of the compressor, a connection between the compression chamber of the compressor and the reservoir, a float in said reservoir, a valve for each of the two last-named connections, and

mechanism operated by said float, for clos compressor, a condenser, a reservoir d1s-.

posed above the condenser, a cabinet, a connection between the condenser and the reservoir, a connection between the reservoir and the cabinet, a connection between the reservoir and the inlet side of the com- 3 pressor, a conneption between the compression chamber 0 the compressor and the reservoir, a float in said reservoir, a valve for each of the two last-named connections, mechanism operated by said float for closing the valve in the connection leading to the inlet side of the compressor and for opening the valve in the connection leading to the said compression chamber, when the float in the reservoir rises under the action of refrigerating liquid entering said chamher, and for operating said valves in the reverse direction, when'the liquid level in said reservoir falls.

4:. The combination with cooling stations at different levels and a reservoir intermediate said levels, of means for supplying liquid refrigerant to the lower station and to the reservoir, and means for causing a flow of liquid from the reservoir to the upper station. .4

5. The combi ation with cooling stations at different levels and a reservoir intermediate said levels, of means for supplying liquid refrigerant to the lower station and to the reservoir, and means for periodically causing a flow of liquid from the reservoir to the upper station.

6. The combination with cooling stations at different levels and a reservoir intermediate said levels, of means for supplying liquid refrigerant to the lower station and to the reservoir, means for periodically causing a flow of liquid from the reservoir to the upper station, and means controlled by the volume of liquid in said reservoir for causing a flow of sue-h liquid fromthe reservoir, to the upper station.

In testimony whereof I, the said FRED- ERICK E. LYNN, have hereunto set my hand.

FREDERICK E. LYNN. 

